Convertible Cabriolet problem,,yes another (different) one
07-27-2009, 12:54 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Convertible Cabriolet problem,,yes another (different) one
I have searched the boards for as much info as I think I can find on this, but need some outside thoughts on what is wrong.
Situation: Top has never given me any problem at all for 4 years, had the canvas replaced 3 years ago. I took it to work in the morning with top up, came out about 7 pm to take her home, dropped the top, worked as normal. Get home and start to raise, starts fine, then motor sounds like it’s straining so I stop and look back, passenger side is up about 8-12 inches, and driver’s side has not moved from bottom (Ouch, this is going to hurt
).
hoping something simple, I power it down and passenger’s side goes down, but I notice there is NO sound coming from driver’s side. I wiggle it as much as it will wiggle, hope it was a fluke, try and raise again, same thing happens so I put it down again.
In me infinite wisdom(not), I think it must be electrical, so like a computer I think I can just reboot (shut off everything and restarted). Definitely got a different result, passenger went up, and stayed up. Still makes noise(not strained though), but no movement up or down.
I was hoping for some insight before I start tearing it apart.
I’ve read about ‘convertible top control unit’, but it’s not intermittent, and the passenger side sounds like the electrical’s are working fine. (Are there separate fuses for right and left motors?)
I’ve found the tutorial on replacing cables and aligning top. Anybody ever have one of their raise/lower motors just fail?
I’m assuming I messed up one of the cable’s trying to raise and lower it a couple times, causing it to stay in the up position on the one side. Can anyone that’s been back in there confirm this train of thought.
I appreciate any and all help with this, I have limited time to get into the repair, so I’m trying to get as much info upfront as I can.
Thanks again,
Greg
Situation: Top has never given me any problem at all for 4 years, had the canvas replaced 3 years ago. I took it to work in the morning with top up, came out about 7 pm to take her home, dropped the top, worked as normal. Get home and start to raise, starts fine, then motor sounds like it’s straining so I stop and look back, passenger side is up about 8-12 inches, and driver’s side has not moved from bottom (Ouch, this is going to hurt
). hoping something simple, I power it down and passenger’s side goes down, but I notice there is NO sound coming from driver’s side. I wiggle it as much as it will wiggle, hope it was a fluke, try and raise again, same thing happens so I put it down again.
In me infinite wisdom(not), I think it must be electrical, so like a computer I think I can just reboot (shut off everything and restarted). Definitely got a different result, passenger went up, and stayed up. Still makes noise(not strained though), but no movement up or down.
I was hoping for some insight before I start tearing it apart.
I’ve read about ‘convertible top control unit’, but it’s not intermittent, and the passenger side sounds like the electrical’s are working fine. (Are there separate fuses for right and left motors?)
I’ve found the tutorial on replacing cables and aligning top. Anybody ever have one of their raise/lower motors just fail?
I’m assuming I messed up one of the cable’s trying to raise and lower it a couple times, causing it to stay in the up position on the one side. Can anyone that’s been back in there confirm this train of thought.
I appreciate any and all help with this, I have limited time to get into the repair, so I’m trying to get as much info upfront as I can.
Thanks again,
Greg
07-27-2009, 01:14 PM
#2
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Greg I can't help you with your problem, but I can strongly recommend converting the top to manual operation. It'll save you a lot of money over the years you have the car. You can convert it easy enough while you figure out the problem. Good luck.
07-27-2009, 03:01 PM
#3
I had that straining sound a few years ago. happened out of the blue so I don't know what caused it. mine top froze in half position.
dealer wanted 5 grand to replace the motor, cables, gears.
I left it in manual until winter. when I got to the motor it turned out one of the cables had snapped.
cost me under 300 for both cables, wasn't hard to replace but getting the timing right and setting the gears took some time with trial and error.
dealer wanted 5 grand to replace the motor, cables, gears.
I left it in manual until winter. when I got to the motor it turned out one of the cables had snapped.
cost me under 300 for both cables, wasn't hard to replace but getting the timing right and setting the gears took some time with trial and error.
07-27-2009, 03:24 PM
#4
same thing happened to mine last year. Went to manual mode and haven't tried to fiddle with it yet, but now that I know it may be cheap (parts), I might give it a go. One thing though, manual mode is faster going down.
07-27-2009, 03:59 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
+993 on converting to manual mode.
I had a similar issue and my searches showed that the kind of problems you are describing can be related to issues with:
- motors
- cables
- bad cold-solder junctions in the control unit
- framework misalignments
All potentially expensive repairs that may or may not be fully resolved with throwing heaps of money at each issue. Again, go to manual mode, you will not look back.
I had a similar issue and my searches showed that the kind of problems you are describing can be related to issues with:
- motors
- cables
- bad cold-solder junctions in the control unit
- framework misalignments
All potentially expensive repairs that may or may not be fully resolved with throwing heaps of money at each issue. Again, go to manual mode, you will not look back.
